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Sunday, October 31, 2010

When a company increases its dividend every year for over a quarter of a century, it says a lot about the company's continued strength of earnings, and it also shows dedication to shareholders. There aren't many companies around that can claim that track record, maybe less than fifty. And of that group, only two and a half are utility stocks (I'll explain the half shortly).

One of these classic stocks is the ever popular Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED), a provider of electric, gas, and steam utility services in New York City and Westchester County. In terms of yield, it shows up about halfway down the list of electric utilties at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, at 4.8%. The stock has a forward price to earnings ratio of 14.

The second utility to make this exclusive club is Integrys Energy Group, Inc. (TEG), an electric and gas utility that serves Chicago, Wisconsin, Michigan, and Minnesota. The stock has a yield that is a bit higher than Con Ed, paying out 5.1%. The company trades at 16 times forward earnings. Operating income of $1.12 billion provides excellent coverage for dividend payouts of $210 million.

Now to the reason I mentioned two and a half companies. The third company isn't technically a utility; it is considered an oil and gas company. It is the Salt Lake City, Utah based Questar Corporation (STR), a producer and explorer of oil and natural gas. But it also provides retail natural gas distribution services so it could be put in the natural gas utility category. The stock yields 3.3% and trades at 15 times forward earnings. Operating cash flow of $1.15 billion is far more than dividend payouts of $98 billion.

Friday, October 29, 2010

On Tuesday, November 2, California residents will be voting on Proposition 19, the ballot measure that, if passed, would legalize limited quantities of marijuana for recreational use. This has created plenty of fodder for news reports. The New York Times just reported on the marijuana related domain name land grab. UPI reported that a marijuana dispensary in San Francisco would give away free joints whenever the Giants hit a home run during the World Series. And to top it off, The Wall Street Journal posted an editorial by billionaire investor George Soros, in which he says he supports the legalization of marijuana.

Unfortunately, most of the plays on legalization involve very low cap stocks, according to the list of 20 marijuana stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. However, for the medical use of marijuana and its derivatives, there are larger companies that produce such products as Marinol, a trademark of Solvay SA (SVYSF.PK) and Nabilone, marketed as Cesamet by Valeant Pharmaceuticals International (VRX), which trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Nabilone, a synthetic cannabinoid, is used to treat chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting, anorexia, and weight loss in AIDS patients.

Valeant also markets Fluorouracil, a cancer treatment drug, and Diastat, a seizure drug. This $4.38 billion market cap stock trades at 30 times earnings, and pays a yield of 1.4%. Earnings for the latest reported quarter were up 41% year over year on a 23% increase in revenues. The company will have its next earnings announcement on November 4.

Par Pharmaceutical Companies (PRX), a $1.14 billion market cap company markets Dronabinol, a form of Tetrahydrocannabinol or THC. However, this is a small part of the business as the company markets dozens of other drugs. The stock has a PE ratio of 13.9 and trades at one times sales. Earnings will be reported November 3.

GW Pharmaceuticals (GWPRF.PK) produces Sativex, an oral spray with tetrahydrocannabinol and cannabidiol, which is used to treat multiple sclerosis patients, and also for treating pain in cancer patients. Earnings for the quarter ending March 31 were negative. The company will be reporting earnings on November 23.

To see the complete free list of twenty marijuana stocks, which shows the symbol, PE ratio, price sales ratio, yield, market capitalization, and business description, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above stocks at the time the article was written.

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

Just in time for Halloween, The Hershey Company (HSY) market cap: $11.5B ex div date: 11/22/2010 yield: 2.5%

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

Private equity companies take large positions in private companies, and sometimes own the entire companies. Often, these companies are referred to as venture capital firms. Sometimes, the only way to invest in a 'hot' company is through a private equity company. As an example, many years ago, I invested in a company called the Nautilus Fund, which happened to own an equity position in some small privately owned technology company with the odd name of Apple (AAPL).

At the time, I was using an Apple II computer with the Visicalc spreadsheet program. I couldn't believe that calculations could be done so easily on a small machine and then printed out. I was working for an investment firm at the time and wanted to invest in this little Apple company, but unfortunately, it wasn't publicly traded. Fortunately, I read in a Forbes article that a publicly traded venture capital company called the Nautilus Fund, had an equity interest in Apple. So to make a long story short, I bought some Nautilus for myself and some relatives, Apple went public, and Apple shares were spun off to the Nautilus shareholders.

Of course, investing in private equity can be very risky, which is why most private private equity firms are private. The few publicly traded ones gives smaller investors an opportunity to participate in this potentially very lucrative investment arena. To cut down on risk, many investors seek out the ones that invest in debt of private companies in addition to equity, so that income can be generated for the shareholders.

An example is Gladstone Capital Corporation (GLAD), which is structured as a closed-end management investment company. The company diversifies its portfolio by investing in both equity and debt securities, and allocating funds towards both small and medium-sized private companies. Gladstone, which has paid monthly dividends for many years, generates a yield of 7.2%. The stock trades at 12.8 times forward earnings and sells for about 3.5% below book value.

Gladstone provides financing for a very diverse portfolio of companies across many industries, including Country Club Enterprises which is the sole distributor of Club Car and E-Z-Go golf carts in the northeast U.S., Legend Communications of Wyoming which is the largest radio operator in their region, Reliable Biopharmaceutical which is a manufacturer of high value advanced pharmaceutical and biochemical products for the generic injectable pharmaceutical industry, Cavert Wire which is the largest supplier of non-galvanized bailing wire in the country, Newhall Laboratories which markets La Bella™, Golden Sun™, and Rebound™ personal care products, B-Dry which is the oldest basement waterproofer in the U.S., Access Television Network which distributes infomercials and other paid programming through about 300 cable television systems, and Westlake Hardware which is the largest member of the ACE Hardware Corporation buying cooperative.

Gladstone's earning announcement will be held November 22.

If you like high yield stocks, such as REITs, utilities, and ETFs, check out the free downloadable lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.Disclosure: Author owns AAPL at the time the article is written.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Over the last month, the price of crude oil has increased from $77 a barrel to $82 a barrel, an increase of 6.5%. Income investors that want exposure to oil and gas have many options. Several of the multinational oil companies have decent yields, such as Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) with a 2.7% yield and ConocoPhillips (COP), which has a 3.6% yield.

However, for the really high yields, investors have to turn to the oil income royalty trusts and the oil master limited partnerships or MLPs. In both cases, income generated avoids double taxation; virtually all earnings are passed through to the shareholders without being taxed at the company level.

Of these options, the royalty trusts have many advantages over the partnerships. Limited partnerships don't send out 1099 forms, they send out a Schedule K-1 Form, and the income is reported on your tax return differently from regular dividends, with additional forms and preparation time involved. In addition, you should never put an MLP into a retirement plan because of the UBTI or Unrelated Business Taxable Income problem, which could put the tax deferred status of your retirement plan in jeopardy, based on my understanding. However, since I am not an accountant, I am not giving tax advice so please discuss MLP's with your accountant or CPA for clarification, before investing in MLPs.

The royalty trusts don't have this problem as they send out 1099's on their income distributions, similar to dividends. According to a list just developed at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are nine different oil royalty income trusts with yields ranging from 5.7% to 13%. For example, Cross Timbers Royalty Trust (CRT), with a price to earnings ratio of 15, sports a yield of 8.1%. This trust owns 90% net profits interests in many royalty and overriding royalty interest properties in Texas, Oklahoma, and New Mexico. Distributions have been paid monthly since 1992.

Sabine Royalty Trust (SBR), founded in 1982, receives royalties from oil and gas properties in Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The stock has a PE ratio of 17 and a yield of 7.3%. This trust also pays monthly.

When you check out the free list of oil income investments at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, pay close attention to the last column, which shows the company structure, either limited partnership, trust, or LLC. Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

Researchers at Keio University have come up with a way of printing various smells onto paper, using a standard Canon (CAJ) printer. The printer uses a scent jet instead of an ink jet to apply the scents onto paper.

If you haven't bought me an Apple (AAPL) iPad yet for my Christmas present, that's OK. Because now you can have my name engraved on the back, for free. This free benefit starts today. It may take a little longer for the order and may hurt the resale value, but so what. A free benefit just in time for the holidays.

Monday, October 25, 2010

Some income investors are so jittery, that they don't want to risk their money in stocks, are almost as concerned about corporate bonds, and even want to avoid state and local municipal bonds. There isn't much left, except bank CD's and United States Government backed bonds. Thirty year Treasury bonds yield less than 4%, and you are lucky to get 1.5% on a CD.

However, there is one type of income investment that is gaining favor with income investors, and that is the government guaranteed mortgage real estate investment trusts. These REITs purchase residential mortgage pass-through securities which are guaranteed by government-sponsored entities, and use leverage to increase the yield. An example is Capstead Mortgage Corp. (CMO), which generates a yield of 9.4%.

Capstone is a Dallas, Texas based REIT that has been around since 1985, and has paid quarterly dividends since 1987. The company invests in adjustable-rate mortgage securities issued and guaranteed by government-sponsored entities, either Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, or by Ginnie Mae, an agency of the federal government. Technically, with the explicit and implicit guarantees of the U. S. Government, the securities in the portfolio have an implied AAA credit rating. Although after what happened to the rating agencies and many of the companies and securities that they rated as triple A, I'm not sure that AAA means as much.

However, that is probably the biggest risk of this type of investment. Will the government entities, and behind them, the US Government, continue to guarantee the timely payment of principal and interest payments on these mortgages (with an emphasis on the word 'timely')? Assuming the government does come through, then a major risk of this type of investment is eliminated.

What about the risk of rising interest rates? Remember, when interest rates rise, bonds drop in value. Hopefully, the fact that Capstead invests in adjustable rate mortgages, as opposed to fixed rate mortgages, will help to alleviate that risk. But there is always the risk of a sharp increase in rates causing the REIT to drop somewhat.

Capstead has a current price to earnings ratio of 9 and trades at 7.5 times forward earnings. Although heavily in debt to increase the payout, the company does have $3.82 in cash per share. The price per share is about 7% below the book value of 11.87. The third quarter 2010 earnings conference call will be held October 28, 2010 at 9:00 AM Eastern time.

For more high yield REITs, check out the free list at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which can be downloaded, sorted, and added to.

There is one investment sector that has significantly outperformed the S&P 500 during the last six months, and for that matter, outperformed over the last five years. You may be surprised to hear that this sector has previously been considered an income investment, not a growth investment. If you haven't guessed it by now, the sector I am referring to is utilities. That's right, the sector that includes such companies as American Electric Power (AEP), Dominion Resources (D), Edison International (EIX), and Southern Company (SO), all components of the Dow Jones Utility Index.

Over the last six months, the Utility Index was up about 5.2%, whereas the S&P 500 was down by 2.4%, a 7.6 percentage point difference. And if you compare the two indexes over a five year period, the utilities outperformed the S&P by four percentage points. The best feature about utility stocks is the high yield that many generate. For example, according to the recently updated list of high yield electric utility stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are over 30 that pay a dividend in excess of 4%.

As an example, Consolidated Edison Inc. (ED), the utility that serves New York City and Westchester County, yields 4.8% and sports a forward PE ratio of 14. Total dividend payouts of $672.6 million are very well covered by the company's operating cash flow of $1.82 billion.

Another high yielder on the list is Ameren Corporation (AEE), which serves Illinois and Missouri. The stock pays a 5.3% yield and trades at 12 times forward earnings. Total dividend payouts of $368.4 million are extremely well covered by the company's operating cash flow of $1.88 billion.

To see the rest of the high yield electric utilities, you can get a free list, which can be downloaded, changed, and updated, at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Last week, my mother went into a branch of a major banking institution, the same branch she had been going to for many years. She wanted to get something out of her safety deposit box, so she filled out the form, showed the clerk her key, and waited while the clerk went in the back. (My mother usually goes into her safebox about once a month.)

After waiting for ten minutes, my mother finally asked one of the tellers what was taking so long. The teller went to check and came back with the clerk who told my mother that they had no record of her having a safe deposit box there. My mother told her that was ridiculous, showed the woman her key and driver's license, and said that she had been going into her box regularly for years. Then the clerk asked her if she was in the right branch, and she replied that of course she was in the right branch, she never used any other branches.

Finally the branch manager came over, and asked what the problem was. When my mother told him, he went in the back. After a very long wait, he came out and said that he couldn't find any record of her having a safebox. My mother said that she had to get into her box. The manager said "I'm sorry, there is nothing I can do."

Apparently, there has been a recent turnover of employees at the branch. One of the tellers who did know my mother said that she saw that the safebox signature cards were moved from a drawer to a metal box, and maybe her signature card got lost in the transfer.

Anyway, my mother finally left, completely stunned, stressed, and devastated, without being able to get access to her safety deposit box. My questions to you, dear readers, is:

1. What would you do if this happened to you?

2. What would you do if this happened to your mother who lives 500 miles away, and asks you what she should do?

The book has a couple chapters on using point-and-figure charts, a chapter on choosing sectors, and one on when to sell your shares. One chapter that shouldn't be skipped is called The Psychology of Trading. Near the end of the book, Nyaradi covers in detail what he considers the five 'Super Sectors'. (I won't ruin the ending by telling you what those five are.) The book also includes some interviews with top traders and a compilation of ETF resources.

If you have considered investing by sectors using ETFs, then Super Sectors is the book for you.

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

About three years ago to the day, I wrote an article about the penny stocks that trade on the New York Stock Exchange. At that time, there were only four. Now there are eight stocks trading for less than a dollar a share on the NYSE. The stocks are as follows, along with the current price.

The domain name, sex.com, just sold for $13 million dollars. It was sold because the former owner, Escom LLC, went bankrupt. It was offered through sedo.com, a large broker of Internet domain names, and instead of being sold at auction, it was sold as a negotiated sale to a company called Clover Holdings, based in the Caribbean island of St Vincent. The domain name reportedly sold for $14 million a few years ago. Gary Kremen, the founder of Match.com, was the one who originally registered the domain back in the 1990's.

With so much uncertainty in the stock market, and with the possibility of tax increases on the horizon, investors have been allocating funds into tax free bonds (municipal bonds), directly and through tax free income closed end funds. Tax free closed end funds or CEFs have several advantages over investing in municipal bonds directly.

Many of these CEFs have yields of 5% or more, such as the Blackrock Apex Municipal Fund Inc. (APX), which sells at a discount to net asset value, uses almost no leverage, and yields 5.7%. The Nuveen New York Dividend Advantage Municipal Fund 2 (NXK) has a yield of 5.8%, is currently trading at a discount to NAV, and has about 26.5% leverage, much lower than the average leverage of 34.7% for all the CEFs. The Nuveen Investment Quality Municipal Fund Inc. (NQM) yields 6.6%, utilizes about 29% leverage, and trades at a slight discount. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just updated its list of tax free income closed end funds, which describes almost 200 ETFs,, including yields, discounts/premiums, leverage, management fees, date founded, and other information.

High income taxpayers love municipal bonds, as they provide income that is tax free from Federal income taxes, and if the bond is issued from the state in which the taxpayer resides or from one of the territories of the US such as Puerto Rico, then the income is also exempt from state taxes. Munis are generally issued by states, counties, cities, and other governmental entities such as school districts, sewer districts, bridges, and water and power departments. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of munis and muni CEFs.

Municipal Bonds

Advantages:

1. You can pick and choose what governmental agency you want to loan money to. Maybe you want to stick with the bonds from the cities and counties near you that you are familiar with.

2. Bonds have a maturity date. This means that no matter how high interest rates go, and no matter how low the bonds drop in value, at maturity, the bonds are paid off at par.

3. What your bond is worth is what your bond is worth; in other words, the trading price of CEFs may be far higher or lower than the net asset value of the fund.

Disadvantages:

1. Higher minimum investment. Although munis are issued in $5,000 denominations, a round lot is generally considered by many firms to be $100,000.

2. Less diversification. Because of the higher minimum, investors can't own as many diverse bonds as they could with a CEF.

3. Interest payments only twice a year.

4. No professional management or monitoring.

5. Illiquidity. Munis are not traded on an exchange, and estimated prices given on brokerage statements can be way off from what brokers will actually offer you if you want to sell. This actually happened to me; I received an offer of five points less than what the statement showed a couple days before, with no change in interest rates over those couple days.

Municipal Bond Closed End Funds

Advantages:

1. No minimum investment. You could technically buy one share.

2. Monthly income.

3. With the monthly income, you receive you capital back faster, and you can do quicker compounding of your income.

4. Very liquid; traded on major exchanges.

5. Narrow bid and asked spreads compared to municipal bonds.

6. Can sell off small portions if funds are needed. In other words, if you had $10,000 invested and needed to cash in $1,000 worth, you could do it with a CEF but not with municipal bonds.

Disadvantages:

1. You pay a management fee and other administrative fees.

2. Some CEFs use leverage. You should beware that this increases the risks to the investor.

3. Some CEFs may be trading at a premium to net asset value. You want to look for those trading at a discount.

4. No maturity date (other than a few target funds). If rates go up and continue to rise during your lifetime, you may never get your principal back.

As you can see, there are benefits to both municipal bonds and municipal bond closed end funds. Just make sure that you are familiar with the risks and costs of each. Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Viagra is the most popular drug for erectile dysfunction. It has also been used to treat such afflictions as decreased circulation and pulmonary hypertension. Researchers have now discovered that Viagra may be useful in treating young males who suffer from cardiac degeneration due to Duchenne muscular dystrophy. The study is being done at the University of Washington, Seattle with the expectation that is will help pre-teen and teenage boys with DMD lead longer lives.

Viagra, which has the chemical name sildenafil citrate, was the first drug approved to treat ED in the United States. It is manufactured by Pfizer Inc. (PFE), which manufactures and markets numerous other drugs including Lipitor for elevated cholesterol, Norvasc for hypertension, Zoloft for central nervous system disorders, Celebrex for osteoarthritis, Zyrtec for allergies, and many others. This is one of the higher paying major pharmaceutical stocks with a yield of 4%. The P/E is 17 and the PEG is 3.21. Latest year over year quarterly earnings from continuing operations were up over 9.4%.

Another player in the ED market is the famous aspirin maker Bayer AG (BAYRY.PK), which produces vardenafil, or more commonly known as Levitra. This German stock, which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, has a P/E of 28 and a PEG of 2.62. It pays an annual dividend of 2.5%.

GlaxoSmithKline plc (GSK) is also a co-marketer of Levitra. In Italy, GSK markets the drug as it as Vivanza. The company has a PE of 17, and a PEG ratio of 3.88. Another member of the high yield big pharma club, the stock yields 4.4%.

Merck (MRK), after taking over Schering-Plough, became another co-marketer of Levitra, including STAXYN™ [vardenafil HCI], an orally disintegrating tablet version of Levitra. The company has a PE of 9, and a PEG ratio of 1.85. The stock yields 4.1%.

Last but not least is Cialis, with the chemical name tadalafil, that is manufactured by Eli Lilly and Company (LLY). Cialis is sometimes referred to as the weekend pill because its potency lasts for 36 hours. Lilly has a P/E of 9. The company is another high dividend payer with a yield of 5.1%.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

This is the best technique I've ever seen in a long time, if not ever, used to market an investment brokerage firm. I'm sure you have all seen the cute talking baby ads on TV, produced by the online broker, E*TRADE Financial Corporation (ETFC), which trades on NASDAQ.

Now how would you like to create your own talking baby ad? Now you can using E*TRADE's new online BabyMail service. Check it out at the following link:

You might be surprised to learn what the largest employer in the world is. Want to take a guess? It is the Chinese Army, also known as the Peoples Liberation Army, at 2.3 million employees. WalMart (WMT) is in second place with 2.1 million employees, then the Indian Railway at 1.4 million, and the National Health Service in the United Kingdom at 1.33 million.

In fifth place is China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation (SNP) also known as Sinopec Corp. with 639,690 employees. Then there is G4S, a private security company in England in sixth place at 585,000 employees. Seventh is PetroChina (PTR), China's biggest oil producer which trades on the NYSE, with 539,168 employees.

Deutsche Post (DPSGY.PK), is another publicly traded big employer. This mail and package delivery company has 436,650 employees. The engineering conglomerate Siemens (SI), also publicly traded and trades on the New York Stock Exchange, has 420,800 employees. Last but not least, McDonalds (MCD), the fast food company, has around 400,000 employees.

If you like interesting lists of stocks such as these, check out all the free stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author owned SI and MCD at the time the article was written.

Let's say you are an income investor who wants to diversify into technology. You like International Business Machines (IBM) but the stock only yields 1.8%. So what's an income investor to do? Look into CorTS, which are Corporate-Backed Trust Securities. These are basically investments backed by bonds or debentures or other corporate income securities. Fortunately, there is one for IBM called Structured Products CorTS V IBM Debentures 6.40% Certificates (HZD).

The stock currently trades at a slight premium to its par value of $25, and yields 6.1%, paying 80 cents per share semi-annually. The certificates are callable beginning 9/29/2011 at par. So if you are considering buying this stock, keep in mind the call risk. The maturity date is 12/01/2096.

A list of about 20 adjustable rate preferreds, with yields ranging from 1.83% to 8.59%, is available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The list includes the minimum yield, the floating rate calculation, the par value, annual income and yield.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

In spite of the fact that 30 year mortgages are at the lowest rate in over 50 years, it is still very hard for potential home-buyers to get a mortgage. Lenders require higher down-payments, greater proof of income, and higher credit scores. The free-for-all loans of a few years ago are long gone. So what do the non-homeowners do? If they don't move in with their parents or in-laws, they rent. The best way for an investor to play this opportunity is through residential equity real estate investment trusts, such as Home Properties Inc. (HME).

Of course, there are mortgage income REITs with extremely high yields, such as Two Harbors Investment Corp. (TWO), which yields 16.9%, but I don't think that kind of yield is sustainable; plus, the trust invests in mortgages that include Alt-A mortgage loans, subprime mortgage loans, and derivatives.

However, Home Properties directly owns and operates apartment communities throughout the eastern United States. The stock trades at 17 times forward earnings. The operating cash flow of $151.5 million significantly exceeds its dividend payouts of $87 million by over 70%. Home Properties yields 4.7%, much higher than some of its competitors, such as Apartment Investment & Management Co. (AIV) which yields 1.8%, and AvalonBay Communities Inc. (AVB) which yields 3.2%. On September 30, KeyBanc Capital Markets upgraded Home Properties from a Hold to a Buy.

Another residential equity REIT with a decent yield is Mid-America Apartment Communities Inc. (MAA), which pays 4.1%, and serves the Sunbelt area. The stock trades at 16 times forward earnings. The operating income of $129.8 million greatly exceeds the total dividend payouts of about $80 million. Jeffries recently initiated coverage on the company, giving it a Hold rating.

If you like the idea of investing in residential REITs, you should check out the free list at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, which includes the stock symbols, market caps, forward PE ratios, and yields. Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above.

Thursday, October 14, 2010

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 2%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

The Standard & Poor's 500 Index is the primary benchmark for comparison to portfolios. Over 370 of those five hundred stocks pay dividends. The following is a list of the top six, all of which yield over 6%. Please note, in the interest of full disclosure, that I own two out of the six (the top two).

Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Billionaire Warren Buffett is the second richest American. As most investors know, he is the head of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-A), the highest priced stock and one of the most successful companies during the last half-century. The company also has Class B shares (BRK-B), currently trading around 83.75, is another way to invest with Buffett. The Class B common share is equal to one-fifteen-hundredth (1/1,500) of the Class A shares. However, there are other ways to invest in Berkshire Hathaway.

The Boulder Total Return Fund (BTF) has over 27% of its portfolio in Berkshire A shares plus another 12% in Berkshire B shares, so in excess of 39% of the investment assets in Buffett's company. Other stocks the closed end fund owns includes:Yum (YUM)Wal-Mart (WMT)Johnson & Johnson (JNJ)

Another alternative is by owning shares in the Sequoia Fund (SEQUX), a mutual fund with a large position in Berkshire Hathaway. Over 15% of their portfolio is invested in the stock. Some of the other stocks in their portfolio include:IDEXX Labs (IDXX)TJX (TJX)Martin Marietta (MLM)Fastenal (FAST)Mohawk Industries (MHK)The minimum investment in Sequoia is $5,000.

A third way to invest is by investing in the Fairholme Fund (FAIRX) which has a little over 6% of their portfolio invested in Berkshire. Although the concentration is not as significant as Sequoia, it is the number three holding in the portfolio, as measured by percentage of assets. Fairholme's other major holdings include:Sears (SHLD)Goldman Sachs (GS)Citigroup (C)WellPoint (WLP)Minimum investment is $10,000.

Markel Corp. (MKL) is an insurance company that many consider to be a mini-Berkshire, especially since it has a substantial amount of Berkshire Hathaway stock.

There are other funds that have around two percent of their portfolio in Berkshire, such as Legg Mason ClearBridge Appreciation A (SHAPX) but the percentage isn't enough to be a close play on Berkshire.

One other option is to create a portfolio that emulates Berkshire's holdings of publicly traded stocks, however, this wouldn't cover Berkshire's holdings of non-public stocks. In addition, it would involve purchasing many different stocks, so you would be better off just buying the Class B shares. But if you think that you can out-perform Buffett using his ideas, then here is a list of a few of their Berkshire's major stockholdings:

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

If you are an income investor looking for high dividend stocks and are looking to diversify into investment banking stocks, you have several to choose from, but not with high yields. For example, the yield on Morgan Stanley (MS) is only about 0.8%.

However, there is another safer way to invest in the company and get a much higher yield, with inflation protection. Morgan Stanley happens to have a preferred stock called Morgan Stanley Floating Rate Depositary Shares Non-Cumulative Preferred A (MS-PA). This security currently sells for 20.15, a big discount to its par value amount of $25. The first call date is 7/15/2011.

The annual dividend payout is one dollar per year based on 4% of the par value, payable quarterly, giving the stock a current yield of about 5%. The dollar a year dividend is the minimum payout, as the yield is adjustable upwards if rates increase. The rate is based on the three month LIBOR rate plus 0.7%, subject to the minimum.

A list of about 20 adjustable rate preferreds, with yields ranging from 1.83% to 8.59%, is available at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The list includes the minimum yield, the floating rate calculation, the par value, annual income and yield.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average seems to have become second fiddle to the Standard & Poor's 500 Index as a point of comparison to portfolios. However, it is still a very commonly tracked, reported and watched index. Have you wondered what the highest yielding stocks of the 30 stocks in the Dow are? Look no further. It is interesting to note, in the interest of full disclosure, that I own three out of the four.

AT&T Inc. (T) 5.93% PE: 13

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) 5.90% PE: 127

Pfizer Inc. (PFE) 4.14% PE: 13

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) 4.12% PE: 9

Disclosure: Author owned T, VZ, and PFE at the time the article was written.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 3%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

The Food and Drug Administration has given the go ahead to Geron (GERN) to use human embryonic stem cells in human patients. The trial study will be sued to treat patients with spinal injuries. Previous studies have shown that paralyzed rats have achieved some movement after treatment.

Geron, which has expended $170 million on stem cell research, was up about 6% today on the news. The stock generated a quarterly loss of 73 cents for the latest reported quarter, however, revenues were up 447% during the same time frame. The company will report earnings on October 28. This debt free company has $1.19 in cash per share.

Research has been continuing to utilize stem cells for gene therapy and the treatment of Parkinson’s disease, heart disease, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, macular degeneration, and many other medical conditions. Stem cells can come from various sources including embryos, cord blood, which is the blood from umbilical cords, and even in baby teeth. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com developed a downloadable list of over ten stem cell stocks. Hopefully your portfolio will receive a cure with one of these companies. Here is a list of a few opportunities.

Alexion Pharmaceuticals (ALXN) is a Connecticut based company with a $6 billion market cap that is involved in the development of biologic therapeutic products for the treatment of hematologic and cardiovascular disorders, auto-immune diseases, and cancer. The stock has a PE of 20 and a forward PE of 28.

Cellgene (CELG) is a $26 billion market cap company involved in the discovery and production, of therapies designed to treat cancer and immune-inflammatory-related diseases. One of the main products is Thalomid, which is used for the treatment of erythema nodosum leprosum, a complication of leprosy. The company also received patent on placental stem cell recovery. The stock sports a PE of 31 and a forward PE of 17.

Integra LifeSciences Holdings (IART) is a New Jersey based $1 billion market cap company that develops, manufactures, and sells medical devices, implants, biomaterials, and instruments to the stem cell, surgery, and soft tissue repair markets. The P/E is 19, and the forward PE is 13.

For an Excel database of over ten stem cell stocks which you can download, sort, and change, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Residents of the town of Oxfordshire, England will be the first in the country to use what they flush down their toilets to power their homes. The sewage will be converted to biomethane which will be used in the national grid. British Gas, Thames Water and Scotia Gas Networks are involved in the project.

Methane is a greenhouse gas with global warming potential; however, it is one of the cleanest burning fuels, as it is the purest form of natural gas and is much cleaner than burning coal. The sources of methane gas are natural gas fields, decaying organic wastes of solid waste landfills, such as manure, wastewater sludge, municipal solid waste and landfills, and coal deposits from coal bed methane extraction.

Coalbed methane generally consists of at least 95% methane unlike natural gas, which has methane plus significant quantities of other fuels and gases. The heavy hydrocarbons need to be extracted before the natural gas is distributed, but methane can be used as fuel immediately. Methane from coalbed reservoirs can be recovered economically, since it is located in shallow coal seams.

CONSOL Energy (CNX), one of the methane gas pioneers, produces coalbed methane gas from its coal properties in the Northern and the Central Appalachian basin which it resells to wholesalers, and also develops oil and gas from properties in the Appalachian and Illinois Basins. They are also involved in the mining of steam coal and metallurgical coal. The stock has a PE ratio of 19, and a yield of 1.0%.

Peabody Energy Corp. (BTU) produces coalbed methane, mines for coal, and develops mine-mouth coal-fueled generating plants. In addition, they convert coal to natural gas and other fuels. The stock has a PE of 26, and a yield of 0.5%.

Range Resources Corp. (RRC), which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, produces coal bed methane, and oil and gas in the eastern portion of the United States. The stock has a PE of 149, and a yield of 0.4%.

Big Cat Energy Corporation (BCTE.OB) has patented technology, called the ARID Tool, which is an aquifer recharge injection device. It allows coal bed methane extractors to re-inject water produced from producing coal seams. The stock recently generated negative earnings of 2 cents per share. This is an extremely low cap stock and should therefore be considered extremely speculative.

Far East Energy Corporation (FEEC.OB) is a Houston, Texas based company which explores for, develops, and markets coalbed methane gas in the Shanxi Province in northern China and in the Yunnan Province in southern China. The stock recently generated negative earnings of 8 cents per share. This is an extremely low cap stock and should therefore be considered extremely speculative.

Gastar Exploration, Ltd. (GST) explores for and develops coal bed methane property in the Powder River Basin of Wyoming and Montana. They also explore and develop oil and gas properties in North America and Australia. The stock has a forward PE of 42. The stock trades on the American Stock Exchange.

Waste Management Inc. (WMI), which trades on the New York Stock Exchange, is the largest waste services company in the United States. They are in the process of building methane gas to electricity plants at 60 landfills. Their facilities will be built in Colorado, New York, Texas, Virginia, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Wisconsin. The stock has a PE of 17, and a yield of 3.5%.

If you like methane gas stocks, you should also look at the free lists of natural gas utility stocks and other green stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

If you think the economy is turning around, with manufacturing and construction picking up, you may think that iron ore is a way to play the recovery. One way of investing in iron ore is through a mining royalty trust such as Mesabi Trust (MSB). Mesabi owns an income stream from an iron mine located near Babbitt, Minnesota. Because the company is structured as a trust, all income is passed through to the investor, bypassing corporate income taxes.

Based on the latest quarterly payment of 80 cents per share, this New York Stock Exchange traded stock yields about 7.7%, and trades at 14 times forward earnings.

Investors seem to be catching on to this high yield investment as the stock is up around 50% over the last month. Maybe it is because earnings for the latest reported quarter were up 4,881% year over year on a revenue increase of 2,556%. The company is debt free with $11 million in cash in the bank.

If you like high dividend stocks such as this, check out the high yield stock lists at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.Disclosure: Author does not own the above at the time the article was written.

Saturday, October 09, 2010

According to BC Hydro, $100 million is lost each year due to marijuana grow-ops in British Columbia. This amounts to about 3% of the utility bills. The company plans to use smart meters to resolve the issue. There is no word on whether Fortis Inc. (FTS.TO) is affected by the problem. Fortis is the largest electric and gas utility in Canada, which serves British Columbia and several other provinces and the Caribbean.

At least the U.S. based utilities don't have that problem ... yet. But many have plenty of benefits, including high yields and reasonable price earnings to growth ratios. As an example, Hawaiian Electric Industries (HE) trades at thirteen times forward earnings and pays a CD beating yield of 5.4%. Hawaiian Electric is known for is use of green electrical generation including wind, solar, geothermal, wave, hydroelectric, sugarcane waste, and other biofuels. Latest reported earnings were up 89%.

For a free list of all the top yielding electric utilities, which can be downloaded, sorted, and added to, check out the list at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com.Disclosure: Author didn't own any of the above at the time the article was written.

How would you define the perfect stocks? I know how I would define them. First of all, the companies would have no debt. Without debt, it is hard for a company to go out of business, unless it has a very high burn rate. Second, the companies should have a lot of cash, so if business gets tough, they have enough to get them through hard times. Cash also makes the company a possible candidate for takeovers. One way to measure cash is with the cash per share versus the price of the stock. A third feature of the perfect stock would be a high yield, hopefully in excess of 3%. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com just updated its list of High Cash No Debt High Yield Stocks, which covers 25 companies, showing the stock symbol, market cap, forward price-to-earnings ratio, cash per share, yield, and cash per share as a percentage of price.

One example is Superior Industries International, Inc. (SUP), which makes and markets aluminum road wheels to original equipment manufacturers. The stock trads at 13.5 times forward earnings, and sports a yield of 3.6%. This debt free company carries $5.37 in cash, or roughly 32% of the stock price.

Hot Topic Inc. (HOTT) is looking pretty hot with a 4.7% yield. The stock has a forward PE of about 36. The cash per share amounts to $1.39, or roughly a quarter of the stock price. The company is, of course, debt free.

To see the entire list of High Yield No Debt High Cash Stocks, which you can sort, change, and update, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. The list has stocks with yields ranging from 3.4% to 12.6%, and cash per share as high as 47% of the stock price.

Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Last August I penned an article predicting a massive five year bull run in gold and gold stocks. I outlined my reasoning and compared this 13 year period from 2001 to 2014 to the tech stock bull from 1986-1999. You can view that article here with the details.

In February of this year, I again wrote an article for Kitco.com explaining the 13 year Gold Bull still had a lot more room to run. At the time Gold had pulled back to 1040-1070 windows and I mentioned that “smart money would be accumulating” and we should look for $1300-$1325 as the objective. That brings up forward to October of 2010, with Gold running to $1350 as recently as this morning.

We have a huge rally because we are in the 2nd year of this final 5 year run I predicted, and this is when the general investing public becomes “aware” of the bull market. They miss the first five years from 2001-2006, and then while we consolidate for three years from 2006-2009 they fall asleep. It is not until Gold breaks all time highs that people wake up and start buying. This is typical in a super bull cycle, the behavioral patterns are always the same with the herd. I based my forecast on herd mentality, whether bullish or bearish.

I am now looking for Gold to continue to run during this trampling into the asset from the herds of investors to about ... read the rest

Recently I finished an interview with SeekingAlpha's Jason Aycock on my single highest-conviction ETF position. Here's the text from that interview:

Which single asset class are you most bullish (or bearish) about in the coming year? What ETF position would you choose to best capture that?The previous 12 months for the U.S. equity markets were modestly profitable, but in large part the rebound from March 2009 has tapered off substantially. The markets have regressed into a choppy pattern, which makes it the perfect environment for selective and active investment. At the same time, periods of uncertainty still loom across the globe, so individual business risks remain high. In my view, the active investor will find the optimal performance using targeted exchange-traded funds (ETFs) that focus on emerging markets.

The single asset class that I believe will outperform over the next 12 months is small-cap Brazil stocks, as represented in...read the rest

Wednesday’s session closed mixed on the day. The DOW posted a third of a percent gain while the tech sector closed down almost nine tenths of a percent. While technology stocks have been leading the market higher in the recent months, today they took the back seat while the DOW took control.

Take a look at the intraday chart of the SPY price action compared to the tech sector. It’s clear the tech stocks where not in favor today. Some tech stocks that really took a beating today were FFIV, NTAP, APKT and AKAM.

On another note, we are entering earning season and I am wondering if we are going to see a “Sell the New” type of thing again. read the rest

Wednesday, October 06, 2010

Here is our latest update on the stock trading technique called 'Buying Dividends'. This is the process of buying stocks before the ex dividend date and selling the stock shortly after the ex date at about the same price, yet still being entitled to the dividend. This technique generally works only in bull markets. In flat or choppy markets, your have to be extremely careful.

In order to be entitled to the dividend, you have to buy the stock before the ex-dividend date, and you can't sell the stock until after the ex date. The actual dividend may not be paid for another few weeks. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has compiled a downloadable and sortable Excel list of the stocks going ex dividend during the next week or two. The list contains many dividend paying companies, all with market caps over $500 million, and yields over 3%. Here are a few examples showing the stock symbol, the ex-dividend date and the yield.

The additional ex-dividend stocks can be found at wsnn.com. (If you have been to the website before, and the latest link doesn't show up, you may have to empty your cache.) If you like dividend stocks, you should check out the high yield utility stocks and the Monthly Dividend Stocks at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com or WSNN.com.

Dividend definitions:

Declaration date: the day that the company declares that there is going to be an upcoming dividend.

Ex-dividend date: the day on which if you buy the stock, you would not be entitled to that particular dividend; or the first day on which a shareholder can sell the shares and still be entitled to the dividend.

Record date: the day when you must be on the company's books as a shareholder to receive the dividend. The ex-dividend date is normally set for stocks two business days before the record date.

Payment date: the day on which the dividend payment is actually made, which can be as long at two months after the ex date.

Don't forget to reconfirm the ex-dividend date with the company before implementing this technique.

Disclosure: Author does not own any of the above at the time article was written.

Tuesday, October 05, 2010

The website LikeAssets tracks investors' and bloggers' stock lists against a benchmark that is constructed specifically for each portfolio, as opposed to comparing against the Dow Jones Industrial Average or the S&P 500. According to the site, Stockerblog has outperformed benchmarks by 17% overall since January 2009. Stockerblog is up 58% versus the LikeAssets Benchmark, which was up 41%.

Long time readers of Stockerblog know that I am a big fan of stocks with high dividends and a bigger fan of stocks with no debt. So I guess it is no surprise that the list of stocks I wrote about in January 2009 called 'Four High-Yield, Debt-Free Stocks' was the highest performing list, up an amazing 67% versus the benchmark of only 28.5%.

Think you have lost a lot of money in the market? How would you like to lose a lot and then get fined billions for doing so. Jerome Kerviel, a former trader with Societe Generale in France, was convicted of trading fraud relating to index futures trading. He is required to pay $6.7 billion in damages along with being sentenced three years in jail. His lawyer said the his client is 'disgusted' by the verdict.

Monday, October 04, 2010

The Washington Post came out with a long article today about how researchers, doctors, and drug companies are looking at something new to treat: male menopause, or as the article describes it, 'manopause'. There will always be a new and different condition that will require some sort of cure or treatment. I'm looking for a treatment for 'acute poor trading syndrome.'

But seriously, the big pharmas have plenty of drugs in the pipeline. And while you are wating for the bid payoff, you can always receive a dividend, as according to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, there are about ten high yield big pharmaceutical stocks, and half of them have yields over 3%.

Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) trades at eight times forward earnings and sports an extremely generous yield of 5.4%. Earnings were up 16% for the latest quarter and the company's next earnings announcement will be October 21.

Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) trades at around nine times forward earnings and pays a yield of 4.1%. Earnings were down over 51% for the latest quarter, however, revenues almost doubled. Latest earnings announcement will be October 29.

Friday, October 01, 2010

Gold closed at an all time high today at $1318 an ounce, primarily due to concerns about a weaker dollar. Many gold bug fear (or hope) that gold may become the next big bubble, similar to the dot com boom. If that happens, not only will the gold commodity take off but so will the gold and silver mining stocks. Many investors want to jump on the bandwagon, or should I say gold wagon, but are concerned about risk.

One way to reduce risk is by finding a stock that pays a regular dividend, because capital is returned to you on a periodic basis and the income provides some stability to the stock price. WallStreetNewsNetwork.com has turned up a list of over 20 gold and silver mining stocks that pay dividends, including Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. (FCX) with a yield of 1.4% and Newmont Mining Corporation (NEM) which pays 1.0%.

However, there is one dividend paying gold stock that stands out. Hecla Mining (HL) is a major producer of gold, silver, lead, and zinc. The company, which was founded in 1891, has operations in Idaho and Alaska. But the common stock doesn't pay a dividend.

However, the Hecla Mining Company Preferred B (HL-PB) shares pay 7% of the $50 par value or 87.5 cents each quarter, generating a yield of 6.5% based on the recent price of 53.80. Another benefit, besides the income, is that the shares are convertible into the common shares of Hecla at $15.55 per share. The current price of the stock, at 6.38 is far away from the conversion price, but a continued strong move in gold could send the shares shooting past that level.

The dividends are cumulative, meaning that any missed dividends need to be paid before any dividends are paid on the common stock, and before the shares get called. The cumulation actually took place last year when the company paid $4.375 in December after missing four payments in a row.You should be aware that the preferred shares are redeemable at the option of Hecla at $50 per share. It would be to the advantage to Hecla to have the common rise enough for the conversion to take place as once the preferred shareholders convert, the company would save over $550,000 each year in non-deductible dividend payments.

There are many other dividend paying gold mining stocks to choose from, including one that pays dividends monthly and has done so since January of 2004. To see a free list of the top yielding gold and silver mining stocks, go to WallStreetNewsNetwork.com. Disclosure: Author did not own any of the above at the time the article was written.

Wednesday the market didn’t tell us anything new. The equities market is still over extended on the daily chart but the market is refusing to break down. Each time there has been seen selling in the market over the past two weeks, the market recovers. Equities and the dollar have been trading with an inverse relationship and it seems to drop every in value each selling pressure enters the market, which naturally lifts stocks.

That being said, sellers are starting to come into the market at these elevated levels and it’s just a matter of time before we see a healthy pullback/correction. The past 10 session volatility has been creeping up as equities try to sell off. There will be a point when a falling dollar is not bullish for stocks but until then it looks like printing of money will continue devaluing of the dollar to help lift the stock market. Some type of pullback is needed if this trend is to continue and the markets can only be held up for so long.

Below is a chart of the USO oil fund and the SPY index fund. Crude has a tendency to provide an early warning sign for the strength of the economy. As you can see from the April top, oil started to decline well before the equities market did. This indicated a slow down was coming.

The recent equities rally which started in late August has been strong. But take a look at the price of oil.

With Gold (GLD) reaching all-time highs again this week more investors are putting cash into anything precious metal related but I am here to caution you on doing so. There are far better opportunities than gold right now and chasing this trend is not the formula for generating short-term growth. We have traded GLD call options 8 times this year (7 profitable) in the ETF TRADR portfolio but now it’s time to step away. Of course, what type of ‘tradr’ would I be if I failed to offer a better alternative.

First off, it would be very difficult to find a long-term chart more strong and persistent than the Gold chart – it’s nothing short of amazing (and at the same time scary for the future of the dollar). That said, even as Gold has made new highs in recent days there is a better place to focus your trading capital. The semiconductor industry has lifted off in recent days and I expect it to continue. Here’s the performance chart between the headline-making Gold (GLD) rally and the Semiconductor ETF (SMH).

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Stock Market Trivia

For Your Library:

"Short and compact book contains mostly condensed and well selected information that is useful for investors.IMO you should read this book if you are interested in dividend capture." ~ Seductive Dividend StocksSeekingAlpha

"Describes an alternative to the buy and hold approachfor income investors: reducing your market exposure with the 'buying dividend' (aka 'dividend capture') method, providing step-by-step instructions along with several real life examples."~ Mensa Bulletin Magazine

“The innovative concept introduced in this book, Buying Dividends, has led to a paradigm shift in how I view my investment portfolio. I am excited to implement this strategy into my investing arsenal, and hopefully generate high returns with low risk in the process.” ~ pennystocks lab

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